“It’s not safe.” Noah’s voice was growly. It was doing something to me.
Jake laughed as he and Ivy followed me into the house and kicked off their shoes too. “Noah, you know damn well your door often isn’t locked during the day.”
“I’m not Jules,” he replied in a clipped tone.
“Patriarchal nonsense,” Ivy muttered.
“Kitty,” Addie exclaimed.
I looked past the living room to the kitchen. Addie’s legs were sticking out of the entrance to the nook in my kitchen. We all headed in that direction as she pulled herself up and in.
“Momma,” Addie said, peeking back out to look at us. “This is like a clubhouse.”
Ivy stuck her head in to check it out. “It is,” she replied. Looking to the side where my pile of pillows was, she gave a soft smile. “You must be O’Malley.”
I couldn’t see my spoiled cat, but hismrowwas loud enough for all of us to hear.
Ivy glanced over at me as she continued to rub Lorelai’s back in the sling. “Will O’Malley want company, or should I tell Addie to hop down?”
“I think they’ll be fine.” I stepped forward to aid in the introductions and popped my head in.
O’Malley was lounging against the jewel-colored pillows, leg up, giving his belly a good bath.
“O’Malley,” I called. When he paused and looked my way, I nodded toward Addie. “This is Addie. Addie, this is O’Malley.”
“May I pet him, Ms. Jules?” Addie was positively vibrating with excitement from holding herself back.
I smiled at her energy. I wasn’t around kids a whole lot, but I could honestly say that so far I liked this one. “You bet, Addie.”
“Gentle,” Ivy cautioned.
Addie dropped to her belly on the cushioned platform and slid over to O’Malley. “Hey, O’Malley,” she said in a hushed voice as she stretched out her hand.
O’Malley stopped his grooming routine and looked her way. He didn’t move, so her hand crept closer, and then she ran her small fingers over his side. I knew Addie had won him over when O’Malley leaned into her and his purr reverberated through the space.
Addie looked to me, her eyes alight with joy as she said in a loud whisper, “He likes me!”
I grinned back at her and stepped away, content to let them continue their new friendship on their own. I turned only to see three sets of eyes fixed on me. Noah’s gaze was wary, Ivy’s was curious, and Jake’s was amused. I guess wanting a relaxing afternoon was not in the cards.
“Um, you guys want something to drink?” I asked, unsure where to even start.
“Jules,” Noah said, stepping toward me, “please don’t feel like you have to entertain us.”
I looked down at the counter for a moment, debating how much of myself I wanted to share. However, if I wanted to be different than I was in Chicago, if I wanted my life to be different, being open and honest was part of that.
I met Noah’s gaze. “It’s okay,” I said softly. “I’d like you guys to stay.”
Noah’s eyes stayed locked on mine for a moment before he brushed my arm, gave me a quick nod, and stepped back. I looked to Jake and Ivy, who were watching us with rapt attention.
“That was electric, right, babe?” Ivy stage-whispered to Jake.
“Electric,” he murmured back, reaching around to squeeze her shoulder.
I quickly made the choice to ignore what I didn’t want to try to decipher and walked over to my fridge. Opening the door, I took a quick mental stock of what I had available. “Guys, I’ve got Sport tea, cold-brew coffee, soda, and water.” Then I looked to my counter and nodded at the container by my coffeemaker. “I can also make regular coffee, and I have some blueberry muffin bread.” I finally turned back to the three adults standing in my kitchen, wondering how this was going to go.
Ivy looked over at the spot where we could hear Addie chattering on to O’Malley, seemingly telling a story about a bird outside the window and his friends. “One, I hope you know that Addie will never want to leave here now. You might just have to let her move in.”
I relaxed, which I realized was Ivy’s intent.
